Underfeed stoker.



w. c. A. HENRY. UNDERFBED STOKES, APPLICATION PILFVD APR. 15, 1912. I 1,074,118; Patented Sept. 30,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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WITNESSES: v INVENTOR {mm I BY UNITED. swam PATENT OFFICE.

,WILLIAM C. .LHENBY, or communes, onr assrenoe'ro THE B. r. u. comm,- or

. PITTSBURGH, rmmsYLvANIA, A conronarron or PENNSYLVANIA.

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Specification of Letters Patent. 7

Patented Sept, 30, 1913.

To on whom it may concern.

Be it known that'I, WILLIAM C. A. HENRY,

a citizen of the United States, residing at; Columbus, in the county of Franklin and 'State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in v Under-feed Stokers, of which the'followingis a specification.-

The invention relates to'underfeed stokers and particularly to the feed trough construction and the feeding means therein. It

has for its primary objects the provision of feed means which will agitate the fuel in the trough and secure its upward movement without an undue forward movement; the provision of a trough construction whereby an upward and lateral feed is promoted at the rear end of the furnace and a proper:

spreading of the fuel to the corners of the firebox secured; and the provision of means of the character last specified which may be readily varied as to position and upward feeding effect, and which may be readily ap plied to the trough at' the point at which its diameter changes to. eliminate the pocket 9 which would otherwise. be present at this point. One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

wherein- Figure l is a-longitudinal section through a furnace embodying the invention, Fig. 2 is a. sectional view through the firebox above the trough, Fig. 3 is a section on the line; II III I of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is arsectional detail view of the filler block which constitutes one feature of the invention, and Fig, 5 is a detail of a modification. v

-The apparatus is shown as applied to a locomotive firebox, but it will be understood that the invention is applicable to other types of furnaces. I Referring to Figs; 1 and- 2, the'principal elements of the apparatus are illustratedas follows: 1 is the water leg" of the firebox; 2 is the'front portion of one' of the underfeed troughs; 3 is the rear 'enlarged portion of such underfeed troughs; 4

.is a filler block made preferably of cast metal which fits into the front end of the enlarged portion 3 of the trough an'd abuts at its front end against the rear end of the front portion 2 of the'trough; 5 are the grates at the sides of the trough, which grates may-be of any approved type and are shown diagrammatically; 6 is the feed chamber atthe rear end; of the trough, which chamber receives the fuel to be supplied to the trough; 7 is the main feed plunger orpiston working in the feed chamber 6, such plunger being operated from the rock arm 8 in the embodiment of the invention as illustrated; 9, 10, and 11 are what may be termed auxiliary feed pistons, which pistons are tions a part only of which are shown, and whlch are immaterial insofar as the present the top of the plungers'9, 10, and 11.

The form of the agitating blocks 12, 13, and 14 constitutes one of the features of my invention. Heretofore the-top surfaces of blocks of this character have been inclined downwardly and rearwardly instead of downwardly and forwardly as in the present construction. With such prior art construe:

tions a too great forward feed through the trough was often secured without a sufficient upward feed. It 1s the purpose of the pres- -actuated to move back and forth by conneov invention is concerned; and 12, 13, and 1-1 are agitating blocks or members secured to cut invention to provide less forward feed and more upward feed: This has been ac-' complished by inclining the tops of. the agitators downwardly and forwardly, so that the top surfaces of these blocks have substantially noforward feeding effect, but have a component of feeding effect upwardly, 'and the agitators cut through the fuelandprevent packing, and at the same time cause an upward movement of the fuel to the top of the trough.

Thevsecond feature of my invention re- I sides in the provision of whatmay be termed the filler block such block being designated by the reference numeral 4 in the particular embodiment of the invention. illustrated.

The front edge 15 (Fig. 4). of this filler block abuts against the rear end of the. portion 2 of the trough, and the interior surface 16 ofthe filler block corresponds in contour and size with that of the interior of the portion 2 of the trough, so that the interior surface of the filler block constitutes substantially a continuation of the interiorsurface of the portion 20f the trough.

'The rear side edges 17 of the filler block and the rear bottom edge 18' are inclined downwardly and rearwardly as indicated in Figs.

1 and 4, and the block is secured removably in position by means of the studs 19 (Fig. 1). This filler block performs several functions. the first'plac it provides a 110 In the second place the inclined surfaces 17 gradual inclined transition from the large portion of the trough to the small portion l thereof, so that the corner or pocket which ,would otherwise be formed is eliminated and the coal is permitted to feed forwardly from the one portion of the trough to the other, without any substantial resistance.

and 18 form a means whereby the coal is given an upward feed through this portion of the trough. This upward feed is desir- I ableinasmuch as there is a tendency in this upward and lateral movement may necessary amount of coal and reducing the requirement for hand firing at these portions of the furnace. The making of the block removable also providesa species of adjustment as tothis upward and lateral feed at the rear end of the trough, as this 'be readily varied by substituting for the block in use another block which is either shorter or else has a greater or less degree of inclination at its rear edges.

The position and extent of the upward feed can thus be readily'regulated and adjusted to suit the requirements of the particular stoker and the particular grade of fuel employed. Other advantages incident to the construction will art.

In Fig. 5 a modification of the tiller block -is shown. In this construction, two separate blocks like the block 20 are employed be apparent to those skilled in the instead; of the single block of Figu l, the

centralportion of the block in Fig.4 being dispensed with. The feature of the upward feedasinduc'ed by the inclined edges is securedthe-s'ame as in the other form of construction, and it will be understood that my invention comprehends in the broader claims the combination of Fig. 5 aswell as that of Fig. 4.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following 1. In combination in an underfeed stoker,

a forward trough portion, a rear trough portion oflarger size, and a filler block open at the top "fitting the rear trough'portion and abutting the rear end of the front trough portion, the said filler block having its rear edge inclined downwardly to the rear and having substantially the same interiordiameter as the said front portion" of the trough.

2. In combination in an underfeed stoker,

a forward trough portion, a rear trough portion of larger size, and a U shaped.re1novable metal filler block fitting the rear trough portion and abutting the rear end of the front trough portion, the said filler block having its rear edge inclined downwardly to the rear and having substantially thesame interior diameter as theforward portion of the trough.

3. In combination in'an underfeed stoker, a forward trough portion, a rear trough portion of larger size, and a filler block open .at the top fitting the rear trough portion and abutting the rear end of the front trough portion, the said filler block having its sides extending substantially to the top of the trough and having its rear edges inclined downwardly to the rear, the said block having substantially thesame interior diameter as the forward trough portion.

4. In combination in an underfeed stoker, a forward trough portion, a rear trough portion of larger size, and deflector means fitting against the sides of the larger portion of the trough at its front end and abutting the rear end of the front trough portion, the said deflector means having rearwardly and downwardly inclined rear ends,

and the distance between such deflector means being substantially equal to the diameter of the forward trough portion.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of the two W. o. A. HENRY.

subscribed witnesses.

Witnesses:

Gno. W. DAvmsoN', A. B. Jones. 

